Clint at Tampa

Bizarre is the way most people described it.  That's mainly because Eastwood came across as an 82 year old man, not Dirty Harry.  If you watch his speech over it plays a little better. 

Anyway, the seminal moment for me came about right here...

The American government was set up by the men and women who settled America.  It was set up to ensure the progress made and ensure the 'experiment' survived, one based on a grand idea that inherent unalienable rights are granted to the individual from a deity not a man, which focused our new country on the individual as opposed to the collective. This was the greatness of America and this is apparently a nuance that Obama and his followers have a lot of trouble grasping.

Fit to Print?

Shocking.  Coordination between the New York Times and the CIA?  Politico points to one of the emails uncovered by a Judicial Watch FOIA regarding the UBL raid aftermath that highlights filmmaker Mark Boal's high level access:

Mazzetti's correspondence with CIA spokeswoman Marie Harf, on Aug. 5, 2011, pertained to the Kathryn Bigelow-Mark Boal film "Zero Dark Thirty," about the killing of Osama bin Laden, and a Times op-ed column by Dowd set to be published two days later that criticized the White House for having "outsourced the job of manning up the president’s image to Hollywood." According to Judicial Watch, Mazzetti sent Harf an advance copy of Dowd's column, and wrote: “this didn’t come from me… and please delete after you read. See, nothing to worry about!”

The bolded is part of the actual email thread.  It seems likely the CIA was concerned with Dowd's portrayal of top-level access given to Boal by several arms of the government, including the CIA. "...and showed up recently--to the surprise of some military officers--at a C.I.A. ceremony celebrating the hero Seals (sic)".   The emails also state he got similar treatment from the DoD and White House.   And who is this Ms Harf, the spokeswoman for the CIA?  Well....

According to other released documents, Marie Harf from the CIA Office of Public Affairs facilitated most of these meetings. As you know, Ms. Harf has since departed the CIA to take a position at President Obama's reelection campaign headquarters in Chicago.

Forgetting for a minute that Obama was giving a Hollywood filmmaker top drawer access to intelligence about a military operation for political reasons (admitted by Dowd)--lending credence to the 2012 version of the Swift Boaters--this was the same mother-loving outfit who refused to accede to Bush administration requests not to expose several top secret terror counter-measures.  They had a hard time finding a coherent reply:

"I know the circumstances, and if you knew everything that's going on, you'd know it's much ado about nothing," Baquet said. "I can't go into in detail. But I'm confident after talking to Mark that it's much ado about nothing."

Retranslated--Hey, it's top level stuff and we never divulge about our own operations.  Besides, if I tell you I've got to kill you, peon. So trust us!

But no doubt after extensive huddles in the boardroom another spokesperson returned later and threw reporter Mazzetti under the bus, in the process saying Dowd only wanted a fact checked.  See, that's why they contacted the Obama campaign lady, to get a fact checked.  It was Mazzetti's fault for sending the whole damn thing.  That never happens!  Now, move on.

Well, it must have been approved fact-checked by somebody--CIA was being run by interim director Mike Morell (VIPS moonbat opinion of Morell; WSJ story) at the time--because the final column didn't change.

The natural reaction to reading this should be to wonder how often the Times clears stories with Langley, er, fact checks.  Didn't that supposedly happen in the old days during the Cold War?  Maybe it never stopped.  Or maybe VIPs man McGovern was right and they were only saying 'yes' to the man, who knows.  Whatever, it sure sounds like something for our two intrepid US Attorneys to track down, you know, the ones investigating whether the White House leaked classified/sensitive info or not.

MORE 8/29/12

So the mysterious kill-and-tell SEAL is out now with a feature appearance coming on 60 Minutes.  His basic story seems to be that UBL either killed himself or had one of his wives do it for him before they got into the room, which if true makes the false narrative easy to understand--if he was dying we wanted to be the ones to kill him.  UBL probably had standing orders to prevent his death at our infidel hands.

Aside from the ethical problems with this guy coming forward the story will not cause much political disruption.  Yes, if it's true somebody lied about the events to make it seem more noble, but the SEALS did a noble and risky thing, and the preezy made a gutsy call to take out Pakistan's Ace in the hole right out from under their stinking noses.  The idea that UBL's wife had to kill him only takes a little of the luster off.

But are there problems?  Some of the stories say that UBL had two guns in the room and that neither had bullets in them when searched.   Were they fired?  Where did the shots come from, if not from the SEALS?   If this guy is himself fudging a little, let's say the lead SEAL shot him in the hallway after he popped his head out the door and he fell dead back into the room, that means there was no "halt, police" type of call to give him a chance to surrender.  That would go against almost all the narratives saying it wasn't an assassination mission.

Still though, it's not liable to change many minds.  It's not a smoking gun.  If anything it might serve to remind the public of the raid without the administration even having to bring it up.  Meanwhile, they are moving the book's release date up to Sept 4, right before the Democratic convention.    

MORE  8/31/12

The Politico has more today on the SEAL story, including indications from DoJ spokesman Jeh Johnny Johnson that a lawsuit might be in the offing.   Maguire asks, would they?  

They would. 

That's because any buzz about the UBL raid, positive or negative, means people are talking about the UBL raid.  Few will care if the administration distorted the facts a little, ie, they killed binny as soon as he stuck his bearded head out the door instead of in his room.   At least few in America--Obama is no longer running as president of the world since those polls don't make news anymore.  So any UBL talk is OK so long as the leak isn't a complete smoking gun, bin Laden has actually been dead for years that was a fake type story.  But even then they could just call the leaker a birther and carry on.  

Here comes Isaac

Drudge is now heralding doom for New Orleans with a sensational headline comparing Tropical Storm Isaac to Category 4 Hurricane Katrina.  He's linking to a Forbes story about some weather people who work in futures, ie, reminding everyone that somebody will likely make money off this possible future disaster depending on the outcome. That's our evil free market system at work.

Anyway, it's hard to believe Katrina was seven years ago this month.  Hopefully they've strengthened the flood walls down there lest we have another disaster blamed on Bush.   In reality the Landrieu family will be the ones on the hot seat this time if something happens because nothing rises to the top these days.   They will surely have all the gutsy calls they can handle.   Let's hope none of them fly off the handle, like last time.

Meanwhile, be careful what you say.  After slightly mocking NOAA in an earlier post for sending Isaac to Tampa and the GOP convention they are now sending it to.. Memphis.

I get the message!  So let's hope and pray that it fizzles out....and certainly not just for my sake. 

COMPASSIONATE URINATING CONTEST  8/27/12

Expect we might hear something about this order Obama signed declaring Louisiana is now in a federal state of emergency.   He's on the ball! 

How many will point out that Bush did the same thing? 

Side Tracks

Staying with a space theme again this week, unfortunately, in tribute to the passing of American (and world) hero Neil Armstrong, first man on the Moon.

The late 60s for me was a time of utter fascination with all things dealing with the frontier of space and the possibilities therein.  I don't know when I've ever had that feeling since.

Bin Laden book on 9/11

Evidently kept quiet for months, today we find there's a new book arriving on September 11th that documents the UBL Abbotabad raid from someone inside the room.  The NY Times seems somewhat concerned:

It promises to be one of the biggest books of the year, with the potential to affect the presidential campaign in the final weeks before the election.

The US government also appears to be somewhat concerned, claiming they knew nothing, nothing about this:

"We learned about this book today from press reports. We haven't reviewed it and don't know what it says," White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said. The Pentagon said it hadn't vetted the book or helped provide information to the authors. There are at least two Pentagon regulations requiring the Defense Department review writings by retired troops that contain sensitive material.

Can any of this be believed? The last UBL book I purchased was a piece of garbage filled with loads of inaccuracies, so maybe that's the kind of 'setting the record straight' this former SEAL is trying to do.  Perhaps ironic, but just today the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs was out with a condemnation of ex-SEALS taking political stances. So it will be interesting to see where this goes and how the politicos react. The unvarnished truth would be nice, whichever way that swings.

Meanwhile the 9/11 public service announcements are hitting the airwaves again, asking us what kind of socialism, er, service we'll be doing that day.  Has the government ever asked us to do anything on Pearl Harbor Day? Anyway, my first thought was to applaud the SEALS, CIA, and other service members who've kicked a lot of terrorist ass over the last decade. Now, with this book coming out, it's likely the focus will remain on that kind of 'service' instead of the kind the left is trying to foist on a day that belongs to remembrance. 

HASAN, CHOP   8/23/12

So Major Hasan (he remains in the US military) is pushing an appeals court to let him keep him Muslim beard for trial.   I say "chop chop".  Who else in the service gets to defy rules?  Have they forgotten that PC coddling is what got 13 troops killed and many wounded?  

Hurricane Romney

You can already sense it in the articles--the media is hoping and praying (to whomever) that Tropical Storm Issac, a biblical name no less, smashes into Tampa and messes up the Republican convention next week.

Here's the track.  It appears even the hurricane people are into it....

Just kidding.  The weather people aren't political--they are too busy stocking up on ammo.  Hey that's a joke too. 

Anyway, get ready for stories about God judging the GOP for various sins by sending a hurricane to Tampa (and not just from the left) but while laughing just keep this in mind--on its current track the storm might wipe out Key West on the way.  So just sayin.  And just kidding again, of course (we must stipulate these days).

Politico Psy-Ops

The political sphere is a bit atwitter today at the Politico's insider story about trouble in the Obama campaign...

Obama campaign roiled by conflict

That got some headlines along with Drudge's focus on the claim Obama called Rubio a 'boy'. It wouldn't be surprising, if true.

Then again, it would be surprising if anything in the entire story was actually true. For something deemed to be a hit piece it certainly advanced a lot of dirt and narratives.

Take for example the following bullet points from the story and what they might advance:

• Obama wanting constant updates about college kids volunteering for his campaign. Right now he needs them to get energized, but getting them energized means red meat. The boss is calling, guys, and he's getting tough, to wit... 
• .. calling Rubio a boy. The tough skinny kid from Chicago "talking trash". Bound to get the kids riled up. 
• Obama is in charge. He's mad about this, frustrated about that, etc. 
• Biden needs to get on the same page? Biden jumped the gun on gay marriage? Hard to believe. Joe dropped the gay marriage hint in late 2010 (after the mid-term shellacking) and it never spurred an Ovolution.  No, the time to drop the gay card was right and Biden played his role--betcha 10,000. 
• Complaining about the Super PACs--and the SCOTUS decision that allowed them. Obama has now 'reluctantly' joined the fray--he had to! 
• He hates Romney. Get that? Romney is a weather vane with no core. This supposedly coming from the top guy... 
• ...who we're told doesn't like negative campaigning. He tells the press this routinely.  He told them today.  Yet he and his minions told the Politico he hates Romney.  

 Politico is on the links section of this blog stored under "the left" for a reason.

Side Tracks

This is from a rare album that came out around the time of Apollo 11...



The "Sound of Genesis" was the group name; not likely a real group but nevertheless a very interesting album that included actual sounds of astronaut transmissions with Houston Mission Control spliced in with techno rock music. 

We're Losing the War...

...if this kind of comment is now considered "hate and violence":

"While the overwhelming majority of Muslims are as peace loving as everyone else, there are radical Islamists right here in the United States trying to kill Americans and destroy this country," he told a town hall meeting in Elk Grove Village, Ill.

That comes from Rep Joe Walsh of Illinois, who claims he was repeating information heard in the committee hearings on domestic radicalization. Add it to the classification of the Family Research Council as a "hate group" then ask yourself what in the world is going on in America?

The linked article was trying to suggest that mosques and Muslims around the country are cowering in fear, awaiting the inevitable predicted attacks that haven't come since 9/11.  And just who would be attacking them?  Would it be guys who volunteer at the local GLBT support group or teabaggers stimulated by Walsh? Feel free to supply the answer--and bonus points to those saying the LGBT guys should be targeting both Muslims and Christians should they care about ideological consistency.  But of course they value their key body parts far too much.

On Biden and Chains

Jay Carney spent about half his rare "daily" press briefing today answering questions about Joe Biden's back in chains y'all comment in Virginia the other day--of course he refused to condemn them in any way even when told that the black governor of Virginia (Dem) had condemned them.   He also confirmed that Biden would remain on the ticket, complete with a slap at both McCain and Palin.

He spent most of the other time claiming that news stories about Biden's comments or Democrat commercials about Romney being a killer or accusations that he might be a felon are actually distractions coming from Romney to divert attention away from a substantive debate.  Yes, really.  The Obama folks are just trying to talk issues--the issue being that Mittens might be Stalin.  

But a question comes to my mind about Biden and scripting.  There was a prompter at the speech...



Were his "chains" remarks actually on the screen for him to read or did he ad-lib them?  Ole Joe tends to drift around a lot--or so it would seem--but if those comments were actually on the transcript it would suggest the White House is the one who wants to distract from it's own 'substantive' message, one they are overwhelmingly winning according to Carney.  Figure that logic.   

Terrorist or Hate Crime?

The LGBT volunteer who made political remarks before opening fire on a security guard at the FRC in DC was variously described as "mentally disturbed" or "kind, gentle and unassuming".   Early stories (at least from Fox) said the authorities were considering it a domestic terrorism case; updates are now suggesting hate crimes charges.  But as Alex Jones' site correctly asks, can there be a hate crime against an organization considered to be a hate group?  We'll have to wait for word from the Southern Poverty Center for Blaming Terrorism on Right Wingers. 

Otherwise, it has been an interesting afternoon watching the mainstreamers slowly gravitate to a story they otherwise would have been super-glued to had the roles been reversed.  Had some guy carrying a bag of Chick-fil-A's walked into an LGBT research center and opened fire after condemning gays it would have been saturation coverage.  Brian Ross would be finding the teabagger association.  But yawn, just another day. No OWS suspects to be found.   

Meanwhile in the land of real terrorists 18 American troops have been killed this month fighting in Afghanistan after 41 were lost in July.  Ever since Obama went to Dover and saluted it seems the media has lost interest in such things. 

Ryan Interview

MSM journalists take note-- the old retired guy from Faux News just put you all to shame.  Watch the Hume-Ryan interview if you want to see a professional at work, asking pointed questions, driving follow-ups to counter spin and maintaining a reporter's skepticism throughout.

Here's the interview.

Ryan came across young and wonkish, pretty much like always, but didn't fold when challenged, however some of his answers were either confusing or lacking in detail and caused Hume to keep digging.  The AP seized on one regarding the loopholes a Romney administration might abolish...

“that is something that we think we should do in the light of day, through Congress.”

..and that's nice spin but this is a campaign--people are going to demand specifics, especially from a guy known for facts and details. 

Overall a decent interview for a first out.  Romney-Ryan are really staking a claim on the Medicare issue and it will keep Obama on defense (via the slash and burn Chicago style scorched earth politics of personal destruction).  

As to the "Cheney test", well, apparently Darth had this one predicted.

Side Tracks

There's some debate about the meaning of this song; some say it's about Dylan or Lennon; others say it's about the general silliness of politicians promising people free stuff. The latter works for me, although knowing Fagan and Becker it's hard to believe that could have been the meaning, or the only meaning. But my smarts only go so far. It has a nice sound.

Target: Ryan

It's early Saturday morning but some on the left are already awake and tweeting about Romney's new VP choice, Josef Goebbels, er, Paul Ryan, bashing the size of his house (too big). As predictable as sunrise of course but why can't someone in the GOP finally take on that silly communist meme and  CHAMPION their own success as made possible the greatness of America?  They usually wiggle and defend.

But maybe that's one reason Ryan was picked.  He's an admirer of Ayn Rand.  His pick clarifies a capitalism versus socialism referendum in the fall.   

A lot of talking heads put money on Rubio to help with the Latino vote but team Romney must have either found something in his background they didn't like or figured they would be slapped too hard for pandering.  Ryan also appears to be in Obama's head based on several past interactions so perhaps the 'rattle factor' was another reason for the pick.  Ryan is basically a math wonk who should subtly tear apart the plagiarizing car salesman VP in any debate. Might be a BFD.    

The announcement on a Saturday is also interesting.  It's as if Romney was trying to tone down the typical MSM DEFCON 1 weekday reaction by trying to ease Ryan in over several days.  Of course the mainstreamers will morph into pants-on-fire mode as soon as they emerge from their hangovers, but it's Saturday--not as many people are reading or watching.  The New Yorker already shows signs of being somewhat incoherent, inadvertently bashing Obama by explaining how Ryan is not really qualified because...

But Ryan’s Washington experience is also light, at least for a potential President—which, after all, is the main job description of a Vice-President. Ryan has worked as a think-tank staffer and Congressman, but he’s never been in charge of a large organization, and he has little experience with foreign policy. Given how Sarah Palin was criticized for her lack of such experience, I’m surprised that Romney would pick someone whose ability to immediately step into the top job is open to question.

Bold to highlight what Sarah Palin and the right said about Obama.  Except he was the top of the ticket, not numero dos.  And of course Palin had been 'in charge' of a 'large organization'--the government of Alaska.  She had as much foreign policy experience as Obama (taking trips overseas isn't foreign policy experience).   OK, Obama was in charge of the Annenberg Challenge (and his campaign lied about being appointed by Bill Ayers) but his experience paralleled that of Ryan.  Perhaps the NYer will notice their faux pas later today. 

That said, does Ryan meet the Cheney test? It appears not. Then again, would Rubio? Portman or McDonnell might have been better choices on that front. We'll have to see what Darth says.  Until then get ready to hear that Ryan pushes little old ladies down elevator shafts on his lunch break.

Question mark journalism

The mystery of Harry Reid's presumed living source about Romney's alleged felonious failure to pay taxes continues--and it's getting even more ridiculous.  It appears that a simple WAG by Kos has now become a story on "The Atlantic", a once respected magazine and news-opinion source.

Is Jon Huntsman Sr. Harry Reid's Deep Throat?

The story opens with "the latest speculation" then proceeds to repeat the Kos WAG. That's about it. Certainly a juicy possibility--an internecine Mormon war, but far from being fit to print as the Huntsmans have denied it. So, applying that same level of journalistic integrity what's wrong with this story:

Was communist mentor intimate with Obama's mother?

They appear to be equally sourced, both coming from far left/right sources. Both stories use question marks for plausible deniability (hey, just asking a question!). Yet only one is currently considered a hack source.

Speaking with the Dead

Nancy Pelosi sees dead people:

"My chair was getting crowded in and I couldn’t figure out what it was, it was like this," she said. "And then I realized Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Alice Paul, Sojourner Truth, you name it, they were all in that chair, they were," said Pelosi. "More than I named and I could hear them say: 'At last we have a seat at the table.' And then they were gone."

This seems to be a regular occurrence in Washington. Obama made a quip about such things in his very first presser. Bush was quoted as telling some Arabs that God spoke to him and told him to invade Iraq. And Hillary also claims to have discussed things with Eleanor Roosevelt and other feminist luminaries of the past. Of course with Democrats one could say they are only taking advice from part of their constituency, ba-dum dum.

Speaking of crazy, what's up with all the naked people running around getting arrested?  Randy Travis is the latest story but there have been scores of others recently, including the so-called zombie attacks.  In the good ole days it seems like drunk men at least had the sense to keep their clothes on when driving or wandering aimlessly on the street.   Maybe that 2012 end of the world stuff has some merit.   

Challenging the Palace

Just marvel at the Obama spokesman being grilled by of all people, NBC reporter Chuck Todd....

It takes a special talent to stand there and dissemble like that, even adding a lecture about Obama's personal  "transparency" while refusing to acknowledge former condemnations of people who associate with Donald Trump. 

However, it's somewhat refreshing to witness a left-leaning journalist being overwhelmed by what has to be a deep-down calling to find the truth even if the truth might hurt a bit--to the point of reaching the uncharted territory of interrupting his former colleague to prevent a stock talking point filibuster.  Carney was trying to defend Reid's tactics without defending them and he got called on it--by a friendly.  There may be hope for the MSM yet.

Then again, all this time spent talking about Romney's taxes or Reid's allegation is time not spent talking about the 8.246757 percent unemployment rate, the floundering state of GM, the war in Afghanistan, our policy in Syria, the national debt, tax increases coming for everyone next year, Solyndra or the other green failures, GITMO and the KSM trial, or Obama's many Executive Orders.  So there may be a method to the madness.    

Domestic Terror?

Interesting coverage dichotomy from the New York Times between the Milwaukee mass shooting, now being called a domestic terror act (with no urging from anyone to avoid conclusion jumps) and the foiled plot in Cleveland to blow up the bridge back in May.

The Times has a front page feature today--most likely one of many to come--about all the hate of the Sikh shooter.  No doubt--and probably a load of ignorance, too.  And he can be tied to the far right wing, no doubt about that, either.

But unless my search engines have failed me, here's the NYT story about the Cleveland bomb plot.  Not one mention of any ideological angle, attendance at Occupy Cleveland, or anything that might tell the reader why they wanted to blow up a bridge.

Romney Should...

...promptly announce on a campaign stop that he will release 20 years of his federal tax records, his medical history, his college transcripts, his passport records, and any videos of him attending any parties with Bill Ayers.  He should follow that with a challenge for the most transparent president in history to do likewise.

He could even throw in a plea for fellow Mormon Harry Reid to do the Christian-like thing and release his own tax records so the fine people of Nevada can have faith he isn't compromised by outside sources, but addressing dirty liars is not really necessary.  

Otherwise this is not going away for Romney.  CNN's Bash is correct--her very reportage proves it.  The longer Mitt holds out, the more the liberal media will show itself as the partisan hacks they really are by never letting go while never really blaming Reid or Obama for the blind assertions (as they did when conservatives suggested Obama was hiding something).  Yes, if Mitt gives in they will go after the results--he's a richie rich rich boy who dodges taxes.  Axelrod is a master at playing this PC-media game, aka "Chicago Values".  

That's why Romney has to figure an answer or an end run or he'll be in this same kind of trouble repeatedly.  There's some truth about the 'nice guys finishing last' meme (ask McCain) and if the public senses he can't respond effectively to Obama the bully, they'll wonder if he can deal with Putin.  Certainly an end-run might consist of Mitt addressing this at the debates but simply standing there and denying it won't work. Only Obama can get away with that.

Who knows, maybe they have some kind of devious plan at work. Maybe they're stringing Reid along, trying to hook the Obama people on the way in before triggering the mouse trap.  Doesn't sound like a Republican, though.  More likely he'll hit back with a barrage of negative ads like he did to Gingrich, hoping that changes focus, or perhaps hope the VP announcement diverts attention.  It will for awhile, but our intrepid media will never forget.  They sense some blood in the water.  After all, a lot of them are married to Democratic party operatives. 

And yes, you might be thinking that the American electorate is so disgusted with the economy and debt that they're looking way beyond Axelrod's stunt and indeed, many would say that if asked.  But politics is politics and people are people.  Karl Rove understands that and his response was to call Reid a "slimeball".  The fact is nothing really changes.  Mitt has a dog fight on his hands, not a debate.  They're playing it that way on purpose. 

Side Tracks

This is dedicated to our fine 4th estate and their coverage of Decision 2012 to date..

Bandar bin Sultan Mystery

UPDATE..

Looking at the stat counter this post has drawn curious response from all around the world, including several people from Saudi Arabia.   The fact that anyone would even reach a post like this from a stupid little Tennessee blog only illustrates how sparsely populated the search engine is on this story; or that the stories currently there aren't telling anyone anything.  So people have to keep drilling down further.

Anyway... thanks for dropping by.  You may be interested in a profile of the man who first picked up this story on the Voltaire Network--the same guy who wrote a book shortly after 9/11 claiming a 757 didn't fly into the Pentagon. 


.. 


Bandar, the Ambassador Sultan who came to Washington.  He's been written about in scores of books over the years described as a flamboyant prince who liked football and parties and had the ear of many presidents.  He was recalled to Saudi Arabia in 2005 and just recently made head of Saudi intelligence.

And there are rumors he is dead--killed by the Syrians.

The House of Saud knows but ain't tellin'.  Somebody else probably knows as well, and they ain't telling either, and there likely won't be any leaks to prosecute.  While no major US papers have engaged in the speculation a lesser known publication has waded into the pool:

ASPEN — With the GOP's heavy hitters in the Roaring Fork Valley this week, to be punctuated by Mitt Romney's public appearance Thursday at Basalt High School, the area has been infiltrated by elected officials, Secret Service members and lots of really important people.

But from where we're sitting, many readers have voiced their fascination with the mystery on the other side of the globe involving the alleged assassination of Prince Bandar bin Sultan.

Among other things, the Saudi Arabaian is a former part-time Aspen resident known for his generosity locally, his close friendship with President George W. Bush, his powerful influence on the Beltway as ambassador to the U.S. and being a key figure in questionable arms deals. On Wednesday, we rehashed the headlines blaring from some Middle Eastern websites about the rumored killing of Bandar, now the head of his country's central intelligence agency, purportedly by Syrians aiming to take revenge on him after the July 18 bombing in Damascus that killed four of Syria's top security officials.

The last time Aspen was big news was when Scooter Libby's letter to Judy Miller was made public. The Institute there gives the feel of a Bilderberger Council of Foreign Relations New World Order retreat, even if one doesn't believe in such stuff.   So it's not surprising some local scribe would print this story, saying nothing, just to get the story in the press and repeat the Twitter comment "Bandar Bush" (wink, wink).

That's basically what I'm doing here, too.  Clearly bin Sultan's death at the hands of the Syrians or Iranians would indeed be earth-shaking, which is good enough reason to keep the lid on it if there's any there there.  But I have no clue or any coherent speculation.  So I'll let the 'information clearinghouse' take it from here.

MORE  8/3/12

While we wait it's worth noting that Pepe Escobar, the writer linked above writing for Asia Times, had a very interesting column in late August 2001 that essentially suggested that Bush and company were ready to open a can of kickass on bin Laden in Afghanistan, or at least rumors were flying to that degree.  The gist of his column was that he needed to hurry up and take out UBL fast, or else.

This is not the first time we've heard about this--the BBC reported it a number of years ago.  The story was never widely discussed.  If true--and like Harry Reid's charge it cannot be confirmed--then it brings into question a few interesting questions.